Governor, BESE to square off in court

BATON ROUGE – The legal issue of whether Gov. Bobby Jindal exceeded his authority by blocking the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from purchasing a Common Core-related assessment test heads to court Tuesday.

Both sides of the feud have been openly airing accusations, BESE saying the governor unconstitutionally interfering in a process that sets education policy and Jindal accusing BESE of trying to violate state purchasing laws.

Judge Todd Hernandez is to hear arguments in a case filed by parents and a charter school operator against Jindal.

BESE has enlisted the free services of attorney Phil Preis to represent its arguments in the case even though the governor’s top administrative officer said the board couldn’t do it without her permission.

The governor’s attorney, Jimmy Faircloth, has filed court documents arguing dismissal of the lawsuit and that the test BESE wants to use, an assessment assembled by a multi-state agreement in which Louisiana is a leading partner, unconstitutionally usurps the board’s authority.

He says the plan to use the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam violates the state’s Procurement Code that requires bids on purchasing goods and services.

Faircloth also wants the judge to prohibit plaintiff attorneys from questioning Jindal, Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols and other administration officials under oath in depositions for the lawsuit.

The governor has made it clear he wants to get rid of Common Core and PARCC.

“When Common Core was first proposed, it was presented as a bottom-up state approach to standards,” Jindal said. “The reality is what it has become is another tool for the federal government to try to dictate curriculum to local schools here in Louisiana. That's unacceptable."

BESE President Chas Roemer and Superintendent of Education John White say the governor is wrong and that the higher standards in Common Core already are showing results in classrooms.

Jindal signed the agreements to participate in PARCC.

“The issues they’ve outlined they’re having problems with, you’ll find their names at the bottom of. The contract, the MOU and procurement, all of them have their signatures on them,” Roemer said.

A separate Common Core lawsuit is to be heard Friday in Judge Tim Kelley’s Baton Rouge courtroom.

Seventeen legislators have filed suit against BESE charging that the board did not follow the Administrative Procedures Act when it adopted the standards.

White argues that it was not required because the Legislature ordered BESE ti adopt “nationally recognized standards” and Common Core was the only thing that fit that description since a large majority of states are using those standards.